Senate: Health Care Won't Get Done By August Recess

President Obama voiced support for a health care surtax last night but the proposal continues to draw fire from critics like former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, who called the surtax "a coverup for a rate increase."

ABC News Photo Illustration

President Obama today showed no disappointment about the Senate's decision to delay a vote on health care reform beyond his initial deadline.

The timeline the president had hoped for was deemed unrealistic today, as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a Senate version of health care reform won't be finished before the break. Reid instead laid out new plans, saying the Senate Finance Committee would vote on its pieces of the measure before the Aug. 7 break, and he would then work on marrying that bill with the proposal to come out of a separate Senate health panel.

Today Reid said he's honoring the requests of Republicans asking for more time.

"The decision was made to give them more time for the Finance Committee part of what we're trying to do, and I don't think it's unreasonable," he said.

"It's better to have a product based on quality and thoughtfulness than trying to jam something through," Reid added.

Today Obama said he's willing to wait until fall, or even the end of the year to get a comprehensive health care bill passed.

"My attitude is, I want to get it right, but I also want to get it done promptly," Obama said. "And so as long as I see folks working diligently and consistently, then I am comfortable with moving a process forward that builds as much consensus as possible."

Obama headed to Ohio today for a tour of the Cleveland Clinic, which he cited Wednesday night as "a role model for some of the kind of changes that we want to see."

"They've set up a system where patient care is the No. 1 concern, not bureaucracy, what forms have to be filled out, what do we get reimbursed for," the president said. "Those are changes that I think the American people want to see."

Capitol Hill Efforts To Reform Health Care

While the Senate was announcing its plans, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters today that a House bill is on schedule.

"I am not afraid of August," Pelosi said, though it's looking more and more likely there will be a delay in the House as well. Pelosi insisted she has the votes to pass the bill but wouldn't say when that would be.

Pelosi admitted there were issues that needed to be resolved but expressed confidence that they could be ironed out in the next 48 hours.

To do so, she'll need to resolve a deadlock between moderate Blue Dog Democrats and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., in the House Energy and Commerce committee. Pelosi had a contentious closed-door meeting today with her Democratic caucus about whether or not the measure needs more time. The No. 2 Democrat in the House, Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., said today the House should not go into recess until passing the bill.